Player of the Week – No. 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jade Curtis of Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) has been named the first NAIA Women's Tennis Player of the Week for the 2012 season, the national office announced Wednesday. Curtis was selected based on her performances from March 12 – 18 and was chosen out of a pool of conference/independent/unaffiliated group player of the week selections.

The sophomore native of Saltash, England, went 3-0 in singles action and 3-0 in No. 1 doubles on the week while going up against competitors from a trio of NCAA Division II teams ranked in the top 12 nationally. The top-rated Warhawks fell 5-4 to NCAA Division II third-ranked Lynn (Fla.) on March 16, but Curtis and her doubles partner Ana Veselinovic, pegged No. 2 in the NAIA by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), took down Lynn’s NCAA Division II fourth-ranked doubles pair, 8-2.

In singles play, Curtis topped three unranked individual foes. She posted a 6-0, 6-4 win over Stefania Tkach of Rollins (Fla.), a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Magda Riutort of Florida Southern and a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Sabine Krause of Lynn. Curtis is the NAIA’s No. 12-rated singles player according to the ITA.

The next women’s tennis Player of the Week will be announced on March 28.